Hockey Beat » zdeno chara

Chara Takes Home 2009 Norris Trophy

Jeanne Dupuis — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:44:27 +0000

Kevin Connolly of HBO’s Entourage helped present the award for this year’s James Norris Memorial Trophy. It was presented to Boston Bruins captain, Zdeno Chara, who took his time and really enjoyed accepting the award.

After talking a bit about what winning means to him, he explained that he was cut from every team he played on as a kid and said he “shouldn’t have made it past juniors.”

He wanted to send a message to all of the kids at home who were watching the awards since many of them have probably been turned away by coaches that didn’t see their potential. I think that it’s an important thing to say because, sometimes, having passion for a sport is more important than being the most skilled player on the ice.

image: NHL.com

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Crosby, Chara and Iginla Up For Messier Award

Jeanne Dupuis — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:07:31 +0000

The nominees for this year’s Mark Messier Leadership Award have been announced and I am happy enough with the choices. The award, which is in its’ third year (Chris Chelios of Detroit won the first year and Mats Sundin of Toronto won in 2008), honors an individual who possesses exceptional leadership qualities and sets a postive example on the ice and within the community.

image: TSN

The 2009 Mark Messier Leadership Award will be awarded to either Zdeno Chara (Boston), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) or Jarome Iginla (Calgary). Messier, who won the Stanley Cup six times in his 25-year NHL career, will choose the recipient.

I saw a great rundown of each of the nominees qualifications on TSN. Who do you think should win?

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Jokinen Powers Hurricanes to Game 3 Win

Jeanne Dupuis — Thu, 07 May 2009 05:30:18 +0000

Jussi Jokinen continues to be an instrumental part of the Carolina Hurricanes’ surprising postseason success and last night’s game was no exception. Just like the Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference, the Canes are playing surprisingly well in the playoffs and now lead the series 2-1 against the Boston Bruins, the east’s best team this season.

Hurricanes goaltender, Cam Ward, was coming off his fourth career playoff shutout and it seemed like the team was on a mission to prove that their first win was not a fluke. It was definitely an intensely played game and the little feud between Zdeno Chara (Boston) and Eric Staal (Carolina) continued to mount.

The teams were tied 2-2 when the third period ended. Although Carolina had a good momentum going, Boston netminder, Tim Thomas, really did try his best and made a spectacular save on Matt Cullen and had to reach behind himself and guess where that puck was to stop it from going in. Thomas hasn’t allowed a goal in third period during the postseason so I wasn’t surprised when they went to overtime.

Jussi Jokinen received a pass and did a really smooth rotation in front of the net before putting it behind Thomas to win in overtime. I wanted Boston to win but I can’t deny that it was just a really sweet goal.

image: TSN

Post from: Hockey Beat